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Jobs are set to be lost in Medway after Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis stores in two towns are to close permanently after Boohoo brought the brands for £25.2m.
The affected stores include Burton and Dorothy Perkins in Pentagon Shopping Centre in Chatham, and Wallis and Dorothy Perkins in Hempstead Valley, in Gillingham.
Future Chatham tweeted the news this evening, but it is not know exactly how many employees in Medway will lose their jobs.
But it confirmed that Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis stores Medway were to permanently close with all jobs lost.
Around 2,450 staff nationally are being told that their jobs have been axed after clothes website Boohoo bought the clothing stores.
The deal is for the inventory, e-commerce and digital assets of the businesses, which were owned by Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia retail empire when it entered administration in December.
But it does not include the brands’ 214 remaining shops, which will close, according to administrators from Deloitte.
The Wallis store at Hempstead Valley, Gillingham, permanently closed in January in a separate decision by the Arcadia Group, which saw it shut 31 stores.
Around 260 jobs, mainly head office roles, will be saved as they move with the brands to Boohoo. These include jobs in design, buying and merchandising, and the businesses’ digital wings.
Some other staff will be kept on during a months-long transition period, Deloitte said.
The deal will see the brands transfer over to online fashion giant Boohoo, whose fortunes have increased as those of its high street predecessors waned.
Last month Boohoo said it had bought the brand and website of department store chain Debenhams for £55 million. But it did not take on the company’s 118 stores, meaning around 12,000 jobs were likely to be lost.
Boohoo chief executive John Lyttle said: “We are delighted to announce the acquisition of the assets associated with the online businesses of the three established brands Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis.
“Acquiring these well-known brands in British fashion out of administration ensures their heritage is sustained, while our investment aims to transform them into brands that are fit for the current market environment.
“We have a successful track record of integrating British heritage fashion brands on to our proven multi-brand platform, and we are looking forward to bringing these brands on board.”
Boohoo chairman Mahmud Kamani added: “This is a great acquisition for the group as we extend our market share across a broader demographic, capitalising on growth opportunities as more and more customers shop online.
“We continue to grow our portfolio of brands and customer base, strengthening our position as a leader in global fashion e-commerce.”
Sir Phillip Green’s Arcadia Group was one of the major players on the UK high street, but the Covid-19 pandemic dealt a final blow to his retail empire.
In December it entered administration, putting around 13,000 of jobs at risk.
While the business’s demise has been partly brought about by a shift to online retail, its brands will now continue to live online, after several deals.
Last week Boohoo rival Asos, also an online player, signed a £330 million deal to buy Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT from Arcadia.
Administrators have now sold all of Arcadia’s brands, raising around £500 million to pay off creditors. There is still some property in the portfolio left to sell.
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